If you learned you had a month to live, what would you want to listen to? This would be on my list. (Whatever you do, don’t miss the third movement.)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat (Op. 110); Solomon (AKA Solomon Cutner, 1902-1988), piano, 1950s
1st mvt.
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2nd mvt.
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3rd mvt.
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Another take.
Artur Schnabel (1882-1951), piano, 1930s
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
what’s new
Max Richter (1966-, compositions, piano, keyboard) with the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (Clarice Jensen, cello & artistic director; Ben Russell, violin; Laura Lutzke, violin; Isabel Hagen, viola; Claire Bryant, cello), “On the Nature of Daylight,” “Vladimir’s Blues,” “Infra 5,” live, Washington, D.C., 1/22/20
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
I’m very interested in the idea of a piece of music being a place to think.
—Max Richter
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random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
Want a break from the 21st century?
Jordi Savall (1941-, viola da gamba), playing pieces by Le Sieur de Machy (late 17th century), Marin Marais (1656-1728), Madrid, 2014
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
Why not start the week with something small, mournful, beautiful?
Komitas (AKA Soghomon Soghomonian, 1869-1935), Krunk (The Crane); Sergey Khachatryan (1985-, violin), live, France (Toulouse), 2015
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
timeless
This I could listen to all day.
Erik Satie (1866-1925), Gnossiennes 1-6 (1889-97); Reinbert de Leeuw (piano), live, Netherlands (Utrecht), 2018
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
never enough
I could listen to him play Bach all day, all week, all month.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, excerpt (Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C major); Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997, piano), live, Austria (Innsbruck), 1974
(This recording—all four-plus glorious hours—is available on Spotify: search “Richter, Bach, Innsbruck.”)
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lagniappe
other morning, Chicago (Columbus Park)
never enough
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), French Suites (Nos. 1-6); András Schiff (piano), live, Germany (Leipzig), 2010
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lagniappe
radio
The annual Bachfest on WKCR (Columbia University) continues through midnight New Year’s Eve.
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random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
never enough
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor; Shunske Sato (violin), live, Netherlands (Haarlem), published 10/24/19
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lagniappe
radio
One of my favorite musical events begins today: the annual Bachfest on WKCR (Columbia University); all Bach, all the time, until midnight New Year’s Eve.
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random sights
other day, Chicago (Monadnock Building)
Why not begin the week with something that will take you somewhere you haven’t been before?
Philippe Manoury (1952-), Melencolia (third string quartet), 2012; Arditti Quartet
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
never enough
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), String Quartet No. 13, excerpt (Mvt. V, Cavatina), 1826; Guarneri Quartet
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
During a fraught 17-day stay in the hospital because of post-surgical infections 10 years ago, Beethoven’s Cavatina furnished the only moments during which I was released from suffering.
—Susan Gubar, “When Music Is the Best Medicine,” New York Times, 9/26/19
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random sights
yesterday, Chicago
music clip of the day 